The seeds have always been awaiting germination conditions. Ever since the plants travel. These two powers sleep and travel make this vital organ an extraordinary UFO. Who can claim to travel by sleeping, sleeping while traveling, regardless of the length of the journey and sleep? It can last centuries.
Where are they going? asks the curious spirit of naturalists. We don't know, they travel, that's all, they don't know borders. Nature is fantastic.

Nuts, acorns, seed fruits, cereals, legumes... are used for their virtue, their use, their rarity. Sometimes poison, jewel, ornamentation, or currency of exchange, the seeds accompany the development of humanity since paleolithic. They interact with human societies, not only by their uses, but also by their knowledge and social relations.
The seed is a wonder of appearance. It is a perfection of shape and color. It has a necessary morphology, which is able to arouse astonishment, curiosity or contemplation. The choice of portrait, with reference to its classic codes, allowed us to affirm the singularity of each. Each portrait questions our subjectivity, and the seeds become symbols that, far from a generic image, confront us with our origin.

Excerpt from a text by Gilles Clément, landscape gardener and text by Serge Bahuchet, ethnobotanist, accompanying the book « Seed stories » to be published at Editions Xavier Barral in 2022. Images made with a stereo-macroscopic magnifying glass of the Olympus brand. The seeds come from the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Kokopelli Association, CIRAD, CRB of Straw Cereals and GEVES.